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Planning & productivity

Planning is not the same as deciding

A full calendar and a clear week are different things. One is a record of what you agreed to; the other is a record of what you chose.

Most planning tools are very good at capturing what you have agreed to and very bad at showing you what you chose. Those are different questions, and only one of them is about your life.

A calendar is a record of agreements

Look at a full week and try to work out which of those blocks you would defend if the day went sideways. Most of us cannot answer quickly, because the calendar flattens everything into the same rectangle. A stakeholder sync and the two hours that actually move your goal look identical.

The gap between what you planned and what you completed is the most useful number you are not currently looking at.

Deciding leaves a trace

When a goal is connected to the actions under it, and those actions are connected to the hours you gave them, a decision leaves a trace you can inspect later. Not to feel bad about it. To notice, in October, that the thing you said mattered in January never got a Tuesday morning.

That is the whole argument for putting goals, actions and time in one system rather than three. Not tidiness. Evidence.

Planning is not the same as deciding | TimeBite